Stronger together: teens supporting teens on mental wellness
Middle schoolers get real about how to show up for each other.
September is Suicide Prevention Month
Today we’re launching our new Stronger Together series, all about the power of peer-to-peer support in addressing the global mental health crisis.
Our founding Executive Producer, Rob VanAlkemade, is helping develop this series. As a teenager, Rob lost his father, Gerry, to suicide, and has long navigated major depression himself. Rob is now a dad to elementary and middle schoolers, and strives to raise them with the resources, openness, and resilience that might have saved his own dad. He’s deeply honored to be working with young people like the five brave and generous middle schoolers you’ll meet in our first edition in this series.
Medicinal Media was founded by Mike and Melissa Wilson in 2023.
The Wilsons were inspired to start this nonprofit because of their own personal journeys with mental health challenges and those of people close to them. They also continue to support this work in honor of their sister, Dr. Lisa Wilson. She, like so many, struggled with mental health issues for years until she took her own life. Lisa was a vibrant mother, grandmother, sister, and daughter. She was also a psychologist and professor who enjoyed teaching others. She loved music, playing the guitar, traveling, and dancing. She had a great sense of humor, too.
The more we share, talk about these issues, and celebrate what’s working, the more people we can help. Thank you for joining the Medicinal Media community and showing your support for this cause.
